Improving by upgrading Todd Bertuzzi

Firstly, I would like to start off by saying I was actually among the LGWers that supported Todd throughout the entire season. I appreciated what he brought to the table. He carried us over a small part of the regular season and I thought he was solid in the playoffs.

With that being said, I dont know why it should be a foregone conclusion to resign him. I dont know how you can discount the fact that you may be able to slightly upgrade his roster spot with a younger player. Todd made $1.5 million last season and will most likely be due a raise. Why not explore some other options? With a small amount of cap space why not look into obtaining other players in the 1.5-3 million dollar range that might be better than Bert?

As I mentioned in another thread, we could pursue Andrew Ladd. If we signed him to an offer sheet at 2-2.5, I dont see anyway Chicago could match. That dollar range would be a steal for a 25 year old that will get you between 40-50 points.

Just a thought. Theres also a chance we will be able to get Bertuzzi back far below market value which would make him a steal. My point is that it shouldnt be a slam dunk to resign him. We need to explore every option to improve this team.

Q: Of all the individual trophies you have not won, which one would you most like to win?Datsyuk: I have so many of them that I haven't won. I think I would most like to win a trophy to the best goaltending duo.

With Hudler returning and a healthy Cleary next year,Bert will most likely play on the 3rd line as Cleary and Hudler probably rotate 2nd line duty.Bertuzzi,imo,doesn't have nearly as much grit and effort on defense to play 3rd line.Let Bert go,and a few players that would fit nicely in his place would be:

Andrew Ladd
Colby Armstrong
Jason Chimera
Eric Nystrom
Owen Nolan

All these guys are fairly responsibly defensively(doesn't take much to be able to hustle more than Bert),hit,fight occasionally,and put up a few points here and there.The only guy on that list that I think could hit 40 points tho is Colby Armstrong.Maybe Nystrom?

"Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept."

I heard a few months ago that Todd will be willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Wings. So if thats the case, then I say we must keep him. Especially in this post cap era. Getting a decent player for dirt cheap is a must if we have the opportunity. And from what I hear, we have that opportunity with Bert.

You guys do realize that Bertuzzi was probably the best value on the entire team last year except for Howard right? I don't think we got as much production for cap hit out of any other skater on the roster, yet Bertuzzi is the one that needs to go?

You are right signing Adrew Ladd for 2.5 million makes so much more sense than Bertuzzi for 1.5. I would much rather have the player who makes 2.5 and had less goals and less assists during the season than the guy who makes 1.5. As an added bonus Ladd is a big time playoff performer as evidenced by his 3 points in 16 playoff games this year! Not like that choke artist Bertuzzi and his mere 11 points in 12 playoff games. Oh but Bertuzzi is too old which was clear by all the injuries he suffered this year...oh wait no he was one of only 3 players to actually play in every game.

bertuzzi averaged 3 more minutes of ice time per game during the regular season, and 4 during the playoffs.

bertuzzi - 44 pointsladd - 38 points

bertuzzi usually played with guys like datsyuk, filppula, etc.

ladd played with guys like brouwer, bolland, etc.

But if we got rid of Bertuzzi in favor of Ladd you would have to change your avatar! Again!

Both Brouwer and Bolland have more points in the playoffs than Ladd so I don't think you can really say they are dragging him down. I have nothing against Ladd, he just is not an upgrade over Bertuzzi despite the fact that he would probably cost more to sign.

Edit: in fact, both Brouwer and Bolland have more goals in the playoffs than Ladd does points.

But if we got rid of Bertuzzi in favor of Ladd you would have to change your avatar! Again!

Both Brouwer and Bolland have more points in the playoffs than Ladd so I don't think you can really say they are dragging him down. I have nothing against Ladd, he just is not an upgrade over Bertuzzi despite the fact that he would probably cost more to sign.

It depends how you look at it. Ladd in the long run is way better since he's what 25 or 26. He has the potential to break out for a solid 50 points next season and has the physical game to provide as well. I would rather sign Ladd for a bit more then Bert just because Bert has one more year probably but Ladd hasn't even hit his prime yet.

It depends how you look at it. Ladd in the long run is way better since he's what 25 or 26. He has the potential to break out for a solid 50 points next season and has the physical game to provide as well. I would rather sign Ladd for a bit more then Bert just because Bert has one more year probably but Ladd hasn't even hit his prime yet.

That is true but we wouldn't be signing either of them to long term deals so it really isn't that important. Look at the free agents we signed this year, they were all one year deals. You could sign a guy who has never played here before to a 3 or 4 year deal but that is a pretty big gamble.

That is true but we wouldn't be signing either of them to long term deals so it really isn't that important. Look at the free agents we signed this year, they were all one year deals. You could sign a guy who has never played here before to a 3 or 4 year deal but that is a pretty big gamble.

You could sign Ladd for 2 years, just long enough to make him get roots in teh area then go from there. He's a player that has proven he can play a 3rd line secondary scoring role so if he doesn't work out as hitting his potential and getting 50 points he can always anchor a third line basically.

You guys do realize that Bertuzzi was probably the best value on the entire team last year except for Howard right? I don't think we got as much production for cap hit out of any other skater on the roster, yet Bertuzzi is the one that needs to go?

You are right signing Adrew Ladd for 2.5 million makes so much more sense than Bertuzzi for 1.5. I would much rather have the player who makes 2.5 and had less goals and less assists during the season than the guy who makes 1.5. As an added bonus Ladd is a big time playoff performer as evidenced by his 3 points in 16 playoff games this year! Not like that choke artist Bertuzzi and his mere 11 points in 12 playoff games. Oh but Bertuzzi is too old which was clear by all the injuries he suffered this year...oh wait no he was one of only 3 players to actually play in every game.

Helm, Eaves, and Miller were all better value per point.

At some point, 'value' has to be a secondary concern. Obviously a whole team full of Helms would be a great value, but it wouldn't be a good team. We already have 7 top-6 quality forwards, but no combination of them +Bert really gives us a great scoring third line like so many people here think. Too many of our guys rely too much on the talent level around them. Bert, Homer, Flip, Cleary, and probably Hudler.

If we could find some combination in the top lines that lets us use Flip and Hudler on the third line, I think that would work, but more likely I think is that we just end up with a 3rd line that doesn't score much more than Helm/Eaves/Miller/Abs/Draper/whoever would, but cost 2-3x as much.